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Eric Texier is undoubtedly the master of terroir for Brezeme.

He is more the expert curator teasing out the uniqueness of each vineyard than the skilled craftsperson working with raw materials.  He is a wine sculptor more than a painter. The results of his artistry are really sensational in this bottle of Cote du Rhone Domaine de Pergault.

Picture 5This part of the Rhone Valley, located midway between Northern and Southern Rhone, is a tale of forgotten glory, unearthed and reborn anew. In the mid 1800s, Brezeme rivaled Hermitage as the premiere region in the Rhone but fell into complete obscurity. In 1961 there was less than one hectare of old vines remaining! Legends, like the ‘Grandfather of Brezeme’, Monsieur François Pouchoulin, guarded these vines for decades until visionaries like Eric Texier, a nuclear engineer turned negociant turned winemaker put this place back on the world’s map.

Texier has been quoted as saying that ‘the fewer tricks I use, the better the taste.” And although his vineyards are organic, the grapes harvested by hand and he uses only indigenous yeast with few sulfites, he downplays organic. He is after purity of taste…nothing more and views these methods as necessary to get the true taste of the land in the wine.

This bottle of Syrah is like treating yourself to a big chunk of dark homemade chocolate. It has body. It’s dark and intense, with enough acidity to carry a bright and balanced minerality. No delicate flower here but a masterful extraction of the land into powerful, vivid, medium-bodied and truly satisfying wine.

The layered richness of this bottle seems to stand on its own. Doesn’t beg for food to complement nor a situation to enhance. Decant this one. Grab a huge goblet and enjoy the color, the nose and the satiation that a great Rhone Syrah brings with it.

Good stuff…for the lover of Burgundian styled reds, this is a win.

Available from Chambers Street Wines and others for $37.99. Buy more than one!

Thanks to my wine master Chris Barnes for sending me home to try this.